Carrier for skis and smilar articles



w T 5 .E w E G CARRIER FOR SKIS AND SiMILAR ARTICLES Filed Dec. 14, 1938 TTO RN EYs Patented Mar. 25, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFF-ICE CARRIER FOB SKIS AND SIMILAR ARTICLES v George E. Westad, Scotia, N. Y. Application December 14, 1938, Serial No. 245,612

2 Claims. (01. 224-29) This invention relates to a carrier for skis and they will not scratch the vehicle or themselves be similar articles, particularly such a carrier as is injured, and they may be easily and quickly adapted to be mounted on the running board of placed in and removed from the carrier. an automobile. It has for an object to provide This improved carrier comprises a base or frame 5 such a carrier of strong, simple construction including longitudinal side members it, which which can be manufactured at relatively low cost preferably are of angle iron sections as this gives and will eifectively hold skis and similar articles a strong, lightweight construction, connected at for easy transportation to and frame. place of use. their ends by transverse members I l which are It is also an object to provide such a carrier also extended downwardly at I 2 and inwardly that will support and carry such article without at I3 where they carry clamping'members It scratching or otherwise injuring the car and withthreaded into the extensions l3. Members Ill and out injury to the articlesthemselves, and also H are secured together by any suitable means such a device so constructed and arranged that such for example as spot welding. This frame w the skis or other articles to be carried can be H] and II is adapted to rest on the top of the runeasily and quickly placed in or removed from the ning board of the motor car Iii and these excarrier and can be securely fastened and held by tensions 13 extend under this board so that the th a ri r, clamps l4 may be set to clamp the frame to the Another object is to provide such a carrier board. which when not in use can be folded into a small At one end there is pivoted to this frame a supspace or into a flat package on the surface of the port I! comprising upright side members It, also 20 running board and requires only a small Space preferably of angle sections, and pivoted to the for transportation or shipment. base frame at H] either directly to the side them- With the foregoing and other objects in view bers ID or on lugs 20 secured thereto as by weld- I have devised a construction, a preferred form ing or other suitable means. Extending between of which is shown in the accompanying draW- these side members and secured thereto is a cross ing forming a p Of this Specification It W111, bar 2|, and this is spaced from the upper or free however, be understood that various cha a ends of the side members I8 as shown so that when o ficat o s y be p oy d Within Scope one or more articles to be carried are resting on of the invention. this cross member the side members It will extend 20 In the drawing: above the same to retain them onthis cross mem- Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the device ber In order to protect the article being carried in position on the running board of an automobile from injury this cross member may be covered and showing a pair of skis secured in the carrier; with a rubber or similar covering 22, such for ex- Fig, 2 is a side elevation showing the carrier ample as a rubber tubing, and the side members folded down in position when not being used as I8 above this cross member may be similarly pro- 30 a carrier; tected by covering 23. This support I! when not Fig. 3 is a transverse section substantially on in usemay be folded about the pivots l9 down on line 3--3 of Fig. 1 but with the skis removed; t0 the base frame as indicated in Fig. 2. It is Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the carrier with retained in the upright position by an inclined 10 parts of the articles being carried broken away; bracket or brace 24. This may be of any suitable Fig. 5 is a detail side elevation showing the construction, but in the present case comprises means of detachably connecting the brace to the two side members or bars 25 separated in suitable upright support; spaced relation at their opposite ends and bent Fig. 6 is a view showing a slight modification toward each other and secured together at their of the upright support at the front of the frame; mid-portion as indicated at 26 to provide a sub- 4.5

nd, stantially X brace which is thus strong and rigid. Fig. 7 is a plan view of the modified frame used This brace is pivoted at the lower ends of the with the upright support of Fig. 6. members 25 to the side members lb of the frame Due to their shape and length it is often quite as indicated at 21, and have means at their op difficult to effectively carry such articles as skis, posite ends for detachably securing them to the a few pieces of lumber, pipes, fishing poles, and side members [8 to hold the support ll in the up similar articles in pleasure motor vehicles. The right position. In the present case the side mempresent device may be easily and quickly clamped here 25 are each provided with a notch 23 adapted to a running board of such a vehicle and effecto seat over a bolt 29 extending inwardly from tively supports such articles in a manner so that each of the side members 53 and having thumb 55 nuts 30 to secure the brace 24 to the members 18. By loosening the nuts 30 the brace 24 and the support I! may be folded down against the brace frame ID as shown in Fig. 2 and secured thereto by any suitable means, such as a strap 3!. The bolts 29 extend inwardly from the side members I8 toward each other so that they are out of the way and cannot scratch the car or catch on other articles.

At the opposite end of the base frame from the support I! is a pivoted clamp 32. This is preferably of substantially inverted U shape with the free ends of the side members pivoted to the side members I!) at 33. This can lie down against the base frame when the carrier is not in use as shown in Fig. 2, but when articles are being car-V ried it is raised from the base frame and the articles being carried, such as the skis '34 in Fig. 1, extend through this clamp between the side members 35 and under the cross bar 36. As the clamp 32 is pivoted the cross bar 36 may be raised or lowered to accommodate any number of articles that may be inserted through the clamp so that this bar can rest on the top of these articles. It may be clamped down on the articles by any suitable securing or clamping means connected to the side members [0. In the present case a rawhide or similar strap 31 is secured to the clamp 32 by looping it about the same as indicated at 38 and passing the free end portions through rings 39 secured to the side members ID. This strap may be drawn up through these rings to clamp the cross bar 36 securely against the articles, which action will also clamp the lower ends 40 of the articles against the top of the running board and will also clamp the upper end portions against the cross supporting bar 2|.

It will thus be seen the articles are securely clamped in the carrying position where they will not work loose or fall out, and the clamp 32 is readily adjustable for any number or sizes of articles. Various means may be used for fastening the flexible member 31, a very effective means being a pair of rings 4| secured to one of the rings 39 and through which the free ends of the member 31 may be threaded and in such a manner as to effectively hold them against coming loose until loosened by the user. If preferred another suitable strap or flexible securing means may be used to secure the articles against the cross member 2|. In order to prevent scratching or injury to the articles being carried the side arms and cross bar of the clamp 32 are covered with any suitable material such for example as rubber tubing.

In Figs. 6 and 7 is shown a slight. modification which makes the device more rigid, particularly the upright support, and also gives more room for the articles to be carried. It also gives a somewhat better appearance. In this arrange ment the upright side members 42 of the forward upright support 43 and corresponding to the upright side members [8, are inclined laterally outward from their lower to their upper ends. This brings their lower ends inwardly or closer together while their upper ends are farther apart giving more room between the upper rubber covered portions 23 and the cross bar 22 for insertion and removal of the articles and also greater carrying capacity. It also makes this upright support more rigid as the members are better braced. The side members of the base frame are also relatively inclined to bring their forward ends nearer together to correspond with the lower end arrangement of the members 42. Except for shortening the forward cross member 45 connecting the members 44 the device is not otherwise changed.

It will be seen that this carrier is of very simple construction which can be quickly mounted on the running board or removed therefrom, that it is readily foldable into very small space for storage and transportation, and can be very easily set up to the carrying position, that one or more articles, such as skis, or similar articles, may be readily and quickly placed in the carrier and secured therein so that there is no danger of their falling out during transportation, and that the clamping means readily adjusts itself to accommodate different sizes and numbers of these articles being carried. After arriving at his destination the user may readily and easily remove the articles for use.

Having thus set forth the nature of my invention, what I claim is:

1. A carrier for skis and similar articles comprising a frame adapted to rest on the running board of a motor car, clamps secured to the frame for fastening it to the running board, a support pivoted at the front end of the frame and having spaced uprights and a cross bar extending between the uprights below the upper ends thereof to support the articles between the uprights, a brace for said support pivoted to the frame and detachably connected to the support, an inverted U-shaped clamp having the free ends of its legs pivoted at the other end of the frame so that its cross bar can-lie over the butt ends of the articles, and securing means connected to the clamp and the frame to clamp said cross bar to the articles to secure their butt ends and hold their forward end portions in the upright support.

2. A carrier for skis and similar articles comprising a frame adapted to rest on a running board of a motor vehicle, said frame comprising spaced angle iron side members, cross bars connecting said side members at the ends thereof and extended around under the outer edge of the running board and carrying clamping means to secure them to the board, a support pivoted at one end of said side members and movable between an upright position and a position substantially in the plane of the frame, said support comprising side members and a cross member extending between the side members at a distance from their free ends, a brace pivoted at one end to the frame and at the other end having means for detachably securing it to the support, an inverted substantially U-shaped clamp having the free ends of its legs pivoted to the frame adjacent its other end and with its cross bar adapted to lie over articles resting on said cross member of the support, and a flexible securing means connected to the frame and adapted to secure the clamp against said articles to secure their butt ends and hold their forward end portions on the cross member of the support.

GEORGE E. WESTAD. 

